Here’s an anecdote from my university days, which I’d tell you actually happened, but obviously you can be as skeptical of it as you choose to be.

To get enough credits to do some writing courses, I did a few humanities classes. Some were cross credited with gender studies, so I learned a little of the lingo within the context of English Literature and thought I understood the ideas behind it… until I sat in on a non-cross credited class. Having many of the same students as my other classes, I entered without a second thought until I heard the lecturer exclaiming at me, “This is exactly what I’m talking about!” I sat down so I could find out the reason for her outburst. Apparently everything I had learned about the plight of the oppressed women within the historical context of books like The Awakening and Jane Eyre were not as bad as what was happening today because those in power were apathetic to the problems modern women face. The idea of a feminist believing that women were better off before they had the right to vote still baffles me to this day.

Why tell this story? Because I think it reveals a lot about progressive ideologies and movements.